Nurhan Pınar Sürek has a deep interest in technology and science since her childhood. She has always loved to read technology magazines and to learn about computers. This curiosity led her to study computer engineering at university.
She really wanted to keep up with trends and innovations in the field with an opportunity to study abroad. Her wish came through when she was awarded the Fulbright Foreign Student Scholarship in 2007. During the following two years, she studied computer science at University of Texas in Austin.
In her first week in the U.S., she attended a Fulbright orientation program in Lincoln, Nebraska. She met a lot of people from all around the world and learned many things about different cultures. Then she headed to Austin, home of the University of Texas. She was fascinated by the sight of university. With its libraries, museums, dormitories, sport centers it was the greatest campus she had ever seen. There were more than twenty graduate courses in one semester, all of them given by highly-reputed lecturers. There were also many informal classes on culture, languages, personal development and even dance courses.
The universities in the U.S are in close contact with leading companies. And the classes in the curriculum are always related to real industry challenges. Nurhan benefited a lot from this vibrant industry oriented academic environment. From Apple to Facebook she had the chance to attend many conferences of well-known companies.
She worked as an intern at Valero Energy Corporation, which is one of the Fortune 500 companies. It was a great opportunity for her to see the real work culture in the U.S.
Nurhan visited many places during her years in the U. S. The modest capital of Lincoln, Nebraska; the small coastal city of Galveston, Texas; Microsoft’s campus located in Seattle were among the many interesting places that she visited.
Having a computer science degree from the U.S. always provides many advantages to job seekers. Therefore, it was really easy for her to find excellent career opportunities once she returned to Turkey.
While working at the R&D department of Cybersoft, one of the biggest software companies in Turkey, she implemented the knowledge she learned during her exchange program. The result was Turkey’s first indoor location tracking mobile applications.
Nurhan thinks there is no better place for graduate degree study than the United States. If you plan to study abroad, she highly recommends you go to America.
For more information about Fulbright scholarship programs: www.fulbright.org.tr
